Black-Eyed Susan Stakes

George E. Mitchell
Black-Eyed Susan Stakes

Grade II race
"The Second Jewel of the Filly Triple Crown"
Location	Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland United States
Inaugurated	1919 as Pimlico Oaks
Race type	Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Website	www.preakness.com/peoples-pink-party
Race information
Distance	1+1⁄8 miles (9 furlongs)
Surface	Dirt
Track	left-handed
Qualification	Three-year-old fillies
Weight	122 lb (55.3 kg)
Purse	$300,000 (2024)

The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles on the dirt annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The event currently offers a purse of $300,000

The event was inaugurated in 1919 as the Pimlico Oaks and was renamed in 1952 to its present name to complement the Preakness Stakes and to acknowledge the Maryland State flower. The inaugural edition was won by Milkmaid who went on to earn United States Champion 3-Yr-Old Filly honors. Milkmaid's owner J. K. L. Ross had a very good 1919 racing campaign, also winning the first U.S. Triple Crown with the colt Sir Barton.

The Black-Eyed Susan was given graded stakes race status in 1973.

Twenty-three fillies that won The Black-Eyed Susan went on to be named a Champion according to the Maryland Jockey Club, those fillies include; Royal Delta, Silverbulletday, Serena's Song, Family Style, Davona Dale, What a Summer, My Juliet, Office Queen, Process Shot, Airmans Guide, High Voltage, Real Delight, Wistful III, But Why Not, Gallorette, Twilight Tear, Vagrancy, Fairy Chant, Nellie Morse, Maid at Arms, Careful, Cleopatra and Milkmaid.^[1]

Davona Dale is the only filly to win the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, Kentucky Oaks, Acorn Stakes, Mother Goose Stakes, and Coaching Club American Oaks. Nellie Morse is the only winner to also win the Preakness Stakes.

As a result of the entire Preakness Stakes being run behind closed doors, on August 21, 2020, Pimlico announced the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes will move to the Preakness Stakes card instead of being run on Friday, before, moving the event to the main NBC broadcast.^[2] On October 1, 2020, the race was officially renamed the George E. Mitchell Stakes in memory of the longtime Park Heights community leader who had died in 2020.^[3]

In its 95th running as of 2019, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes is one of three races that are the de facto distaff counterparts to the Triple Crown races, along with the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs and the Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park. These races have been unofficially referred to as the "Filly Triple Crown." Three races run at Belmont and Saratoga Race Course in New York are also called the Triple Tiara to avoid trademark conflicts. However, consideration has been given within the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), the sport's governing body in the United States, to change the Triple Tiara series to the Kentucky Oaks, the George E. Mitchell Stakes and the Mother Goose Stakes.^[4]

Speed record:

• 1-1⁄8 miles - 1:47.83 - Silverbulletday (1999)
• 1-1⁄16 miles - 1:41 2/5 - Lucky Lucky Lucky (1984)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 5 - John R. Velazquez (1998, 2003, 2005, 2012 & 2024)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 4 - D. Wayne Lukas (1984, 1986, 1989 & 1995)
• 4 - Todd A. Pletcher (2005, 2007, 2012 & 2014)

• Black-Eyed Susan Stakes "top three finishers" and # of starters
• American thoroughbred racing top attended events